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Top 5 quotes: Wild turkeys have given Staten Islanders plenty to say over the years

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted its first roundup of Staten Island turkeys on Aug. 12 at South Beach Psychiatric Center in Ocean Breeze. This bird and rooster were photographed there later that day.
(Staten Island Advance/Virginia N. Sherry)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Not long ago, the only turkeys you could find on Staten Island were fresh-killed or frozen, in local butcher shops and supermarkets.

Only an estimated 30 to 40 wild turkeys roamed freely in mid-2000, the Advance reported, citing an estimate from the late Robert A. Zink, then-executive director of United for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in the William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge in New Springville.

How things have changed.

Starting with the small flock that found safe haven on the sprawling grounds of the South Beach Psychiatric Center in Ocean Breeze, the turkeys -- without natural predators -- have multiplied, adding another item to the list of issues dividing Staten Islanders.

This year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began rounding up some of the birds for slaughter or relocation.

Untold thousands of homeowners, pedestrians and motorists have experienced up-close-and-personal encounters with the large, fearless birds, often with young poults in tow.

Here are some of the most notable comments from Islanders over the years, with links to the stories:

"They sleep in the (evergreen) tree in my side yard, and make droppings all night," said Marian Besignano, a homeowner on Alter Avenue in Dongan Hills. "In the morning, I go out with a hose and throw Clorox (bleach) on it. It's awful, unhealthy."